Security and spyware

Microsoft: Google bypassed IE privacy settings too

In the wake of reports that Google had sidestepped privacy settings in Apple's Safari browser, Microsoft announced today it had discovered that the Web giant had done the same with Internet Explorer.

"When the IE team heard that Google had bypassed user privacy settings on Safari, we asked ourselves a simple question: is Google circumventing the privacy preferences of Internet Explorer users too?" IE executive Dean Hachamovitch wrote in a blog post this morning. "We've discovered the answer is yes: Google is employing similar methods to get around the default privacy protections in IE and … Read more

Does your browser feed the cookie monster--or starve it?

Google's latest public display of cookie addiction revealed that while the ad side of Google enthusiastically embraces third-party cookies, the browser division is more hesitant. Here's how the five major browsers--Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Opera--protect you from those third-party tracking cookies.

But first: what's a tracking cookie? And why are they so important as a component of your online privacy?

A tracking cookie can be used to follow people around the Web as they jump from site to site. Though your IP address or your HTTP request header's referral field can also be used … Read more

Microsoft denounces Google for bypassing Safari privacy settings

Microsoft is clearly looking for any ammunition it can find to criticize Google and win over Internet users.

Today, Microsoft seized on a Wall Street Journal report that Google sidestepped privacy settings in Apple's Safari browser to track Internet users. The Journal story said the search giant and other ad companies used special code to get around Safari's privacy controls in order to track users on computers and mobile devices.

"Apparently, Google has been able to track users of Apple's Safari browser while they surf the web on their Apple iPhones, iPads and Macs," Ryan … Read more

WSJ: Google tricked Apple's Safari in order to track users

The Wall Street Journal reported today that Google and other ad companies have been using special code to sidestep privacy settings in Apple's Safari browser and track Web users on desktop computers and the iPhone.

The Journal also said that on one of Google's sites--in language that has since been removed--the Internet giant had said Safari users could rely on the browser's privacy settings to avoid tracking by Google. (Editors' note: See Google's response below.)

The privacy-skirting code, which the Journal said Google disabled after being contacted by the paper, appears to have been used to … Read more

Security experts: Apple did Mac OS X Gatekeeper right

Many people complain about Apple controlling what apps can run on the iPhone, but with Mac OS X Mountain Lion, the company has struck the right balance between security and freedom, experts say.

"Users can opt to turn this off and allow any software to be installed with the click of a button," said Dino Dai Zovi, chief technology officer at security firm Trail of Bits. "There'll be no need to jailbreak your Mac."

Apple unveiled details today about Mac OS X v.10.8, the latest version of its Macintosh operating system which is … Read more

What do Path's privacy violations mean for Android?

The revelations about Path's contact list uploading, and the resulting mea culpa's first from Path and now from Apple, might have Path's Android users a bit spooked. In fact, they should have you worried--but over something much more important.

Could this happen on Android is a fairly cut-and-dry question. The answer is no, as in, a snowball's chance. No, nein, nyet, non. Why it can't happen on Android still only hints at the bigger problem.

The future possibility of the Path situation happening on Android can't occur because it already has happened. When you … Read more

Microsoft advising users to apply latest critical security patches

Microsoft is urging Windows users to apply yesterday's security updates to patch critical holes affecting Internet Explorer and Media Player.

The critical IE update affects versions 7, 8, and 9, and could allow an attacker to remotely run code on a user's PC using a "specially crafted Web page," according to Microsoft. As such, someone who exploited the hole could grab the same rights as the local user, of special concern if the user has administrative rights.

The update brings Internet Explorer 9 up to version 9.0.5. The vulnerability also affects IE 6 but … Read more

Norton gets personal with One

Symantec newest effort to simplify PC security involve a heavily personalized approach called Norton One, as the company's latest version of Norton 360 made its debut today. Also announced was a new take on Norton 360, called Norton 360 Everywhere.

Norton One is an entirely new product that Symantec hopes will appeal to people who don't mind paying for PC security but want the experience to be as close to hands-off as possible. Basically, the premium you pay gets you one license key and account ID that can be used on up to five devices; 25 GB of … Read more

'This e-mail will self-destruct...' (here's how)

OneShar.es can make anyone feel like a spy.

Using the Web site, you can send-self destructing messages to friends, colleagues, or anyone else you may be sending personal information to. The messages are only accessible through a unique URL, and as soon as the URL is viewed once, it is no longer valid.

Using a service like this may seem a bit gimmicky at first, and it is to an extent, but it can come in extremely handy when you want to send personal information and don't like the thought of that information sitting in some e-mail account … Read more